Joe Kinney (strongman)

Joe Kinney is an American strongman, grip strength specialist and crush grip innovator from Bean Station, Tennessee.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Joe Kinney
Nationality	American
Occupation	Grip strength specialist
Known for	Being the first man to officially close IronMind Captains of Crush No. 4 gripper
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

In 1998, he became the first man to officially close the IronMind Captains of Crush No.4 gripper (165.5 kg (365 lb)/ RGC 213 of pressure)^[6][7] which is recognized as the pinnacle feat in world class crush grip.^[8] Despite five other men (Nathan Holle, David Morton, Tommy Heslep, Magnus Samuelsson and Carl Myerscough) have managed getting certified on this gripper since then, Kinney did it in a slow and steady paced manner that has never been replicated.^[1]

In 1999, he became the first man to close the IronMind Captains of Crush No.3 gripper (127 kg (280 lb)/ RGC 149 of pressure) using only two fingers.^[9]

Some of Kinney's crush grip innovations include performing extra heavy negatives (severe negatives) and wrist rolling, and training with the long handled Monster gripper, floor-model gripper and 'Secret Weapon' grip machine.^[8][10] He also advocated on heavy high rep squatting as a building block for hand and grip strength.^[3]

Along with Randall J. Strossen and Nathan Holle, Kinney co-authored Captains of Crush Grippers: What they are and how to close them.^[11]

External links

• Kinney's Captains of Crush No. 4 close from 1998 – YouTube